IGN writes, "Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII takes the kitchen-sink approach in its attempt to cap off Square’s trilogy on a strong note. It wisely throws away the battle system and locations of the previous games in favor of fresh and more interesting mechanics and settings. It also presents a slew of new ideas to the series that call back to everything from classic JRPGs to Skyrim and Majora’s Mask, and even Assassin’s Creed. But in its attempt to kick things up for the final act, Lightning Returns stumbles in its storytelling. Instead of going out with a bang, it sadly ends the trilogy with an muddled and tonally inconsistent whimper."
Final Fantasy 13 was first introduced to us back in 2009, almost four years after Final Fantasy 12 was released, and fans had been eagerly anticipating the next installment. But when it finally arrived, there were mixed reactions, including complaints about its linearity, the lack of towns and NPCs, and the limited control over the characters. At the time, Square Enix kept its game production behind closed doors and didn't take in a lot of feedback — especially from Western fans.
The game has been revisited by many different Final Fantasy fans since then, and some, like myself, have come to love it again. Almost all staple entries in the series have found their way to modern consoles, so it's about time that the FF13 trilogy gets a remaster
I've been thinking about this. I agree. While I really disliked it at first I never played it again. After hating ff15 so damn much I just think it can't be worse then 15 and if I'm not mistaken atleast it's turn based. I need more of that in my life.
Recently replayed them and I agree a remaster would be great. The complaints about linearity are fair, but they only really apply to the first half of the first game and while I agree that it would've been nice to have proper towns, minigames and subquests, it didn't detract from the intriguing story, interesting characters, tactical gameplay and amazing soundtrack in my opinion.
XIII-2 fixes a lot of the issues of XIII and expands on the story in interesting ways. The combat and progression builds on top of the systems of XIII and the nonlinearity and discoverability of secrets is a big inprovement over the original game. It's easily the best game of the trilogy.
Lightning Returns was probably a bit too experimental for it's own good. It tried to reinvent the wheel for no reason. The solo party for most of the game and the outfit based combat felt like a downgrade over XIII-2 combat system. It does have a unique vibe, but the plot kinda goes off the rails and many of the story beats didn't land as much for me as they did in the first two games. The race against time aspect was an interesting idea, but it never felt like it mattered, because it wasn't much of a challenge to manage the remaining time even while doing all the subquests.
As we celebrate Final Fantasy’s 35th anniversary, let’s look back at the underrated soundtracks of the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy.
It's alright but I mean with so many other FF games it's not even in the top 10 for me
You just can't beat IX, VII, X and my personal favourite VIII when it comes to music
Even the theme song sucks, instead of just having an English version of the Japanese theme they got X Factors Leona Lewis to do the song which didn't sound like FF theme song.
I agree, regardless of the general consensus of the game itself, FF rarely lets down when it comes to the music at least.
After about five years since the last patch was released for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Steam version on PC, Square Enix released a new patch today.
i find it sich a waste that they didnt release them on the ps4.
i know alot of ppl dont like 13, but 13-2 is amazing ha.
"it sadly ends the trilogy with an muddled and tonally inconsistent whimper"
And yet a 7/10. The above verdict certainly suggests the game should have received a lower score. IGN once more contributing to a culture of atrocious and inconsistent review standards. 7/10 as a quantification of the game's quality should objectively indicate that the game's quality resides somewhere in a far better realm than "sad, muddled, tonally inconsistent whimpers." That verdict suggests at most a 4 or 5 out of 10. 7/10 is or should be an objectively good score.
I think Ill love it, story is secondary for me. Give me an awesome world to explore and great combat and im sold. I loved final fantasy 12, despite a weak story.
Still going to buy the game but when its $20-$30 bucks.
So there we have it, a 7/10. but besides losing 60 painful dollars because of the cloud costume bait im just happy that its over.
some one PLEASE convince me that this game is good. LIE TO ME!
I'm seeing 7 but feeling 5....
couldn't agree more with Foxtrot's list and the sentiment "Lets just put these games behind us".
Indeed.